Patrick Peterson was quite vicious toward his former team on Sunday, and he explained why his revenge game was so personal afterwards.
Peterson is one of the Arizona Cardinals’ franchise legends, making eight Pro Bowls with the organization. However, speaking on the CBS Sports’ “All Things Covered” podcast, Peterson said general manager Steve Keim essentially ghosted him after initially pledging to make him a Cardinal for life.
“(He said) ‘I want you to retire here, man, I love you to death, I won’t dare let you go anywhere … I promise you we’re gonna do everything we can to keep you around,'” Peterson said, via Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports.
Peterson took Keim at his word, but according to the cornerback, his attempts at reaching out after that conversation went unanswered. Peterson then opened things up to other teams and ultimately signed with the Vikings, at which point he said Keim disrespected him again.
“I hadn’t heard from ’em in three months. … I told my agent to bump it; it is what it is,” Peterson said. “Then, as soon as I signed (with the Vikings), I get this long text message from none other than Steve Keim. I’m like, come on, bruh. To me, that’s where the disrespect just went, to me, (to) an all-time high. If you’re a GM, you see your phone every day, every second. And I know everybody’s busy … but just be like, ‘All right, P, we’re moving on.’ I’m fine with that. I’m a grown man. … Yeah, it’s been two years, but at the same time, I’m still waiting on that phone call.”
Peterson is in his second season with Minnesota and had a big game against his former team Sunday, with four tackles and a memorable celebration. There definitely seemed to be a personal angle to it, and Peterson is essentially confirming as much.
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